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The first 4 of the Iraqi Air Force's 36 new Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons have arrived at Balad Air Base,Iraq,their pilots and crews having undergone extensive US Air Force training in Arizona.The NATO platform aircraft gives the IAF the interoperability necessary to conduct operations with coalition forces,said US Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder,USAF in a teleconference with reporters on 24 July.
COL Ryder also gave an assessment of the Iraqi Security Forces' recent progress against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.They are in the process of isolating Ramadi in Anbar Province,to conduct a deliberate clearing operation to retake the provincial capital city,COL Ryder noted.The counterattack began on 12 July,and since then,76 Operation Inherent Resolve airstrikes have weakened ISIL by targeting enemy positions,weapons caches and equipment.ISIL is resisting by using vehicle bombs,suicide bombers and other tactics to slow the ISF advance,as well as by circulating propaganda to mitigate their losses and overstate operational performance.CENTCOM is encouraged by the ISF well-developed and comprehensive plan they have put together and executed.
The majority of Beiji is now under ISF control,although its oil refinery,the largest in Iraq,is still being contested.In the North,the Kurdish forces hold their defensive lines from Sinjar to the north side of Mosul,then down to the north of Kirkuk aginst ISIL's harassing attacks centered between Sinjar and Mosul.Since 12 July,coalition aircraft have conducted 16 dynamic airstrikes on enemy personnel,weapons and equipment in the Mosul area.
Overall,we've removed hundreds more fighters from the battlefield in Iraq and Syria,including numerous ISIL leaders and facilitators.This inevitably reduces the organisation's effectiveness and forces them to make tough choices on how and where to apply resources,COL Ryder concluded.*
Among the latest airstrike results as of 28 July:
Fighter,fighter-attack,bomber and remotely-piloted aircraft conducted airstrikes in Syria.Near Hasakah,7 sorties destroyed 4 ISIL fighting positions,a staging position,a bunker,a motorcycle and a structure.
Near Aleppo,2 sorties destroyed a vehicle,7 fighting positions and a bunker.*
There were 23 airstrikes in Iraq approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence:
Near Beiji,3 sorties struck 2 tactical units and terrain,denying ISIL a tactical advantage,and destroying 2 buildings.
Near Makhmur,3 sorties destroyed 19 fighting positions,10 tunnels and 3 vehicles.
Near Mosul,2 sorties destroyed 2 fighting positions and a vehicle.
Near Ramadi,6 sorties destroyed an excavator,2 fighting positions,a resupply truck,a mortar position,an anti-aircraft artillery weapon,a vehicle and a structure.
Near Sinjar,5 sorties destroyed a vehicle,a heavy machine gun,5 fighting positions and a light machine gun.
Those participating in the Iraq strikes included the US,Australia,Canada,Denmark, France,Jordan,the Netherlands and the UK.
Participating in the Syria strikes were the US,Bahrain,Canada,Jordan,Saudi Arabia and the UAE.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 has concluded after two weeks of high-end warfighting training by the US,Australia,New Zealand and Japan.It was the first time in the history of the biennial event that had featured the participation of the New Zealand and Japanese forces.New Zealand contributed 500 troops,as well as aircraft and ships.The Kiwis were embedded with the Australian Defence Forces;while the 40 Japanese personnel were embedded with the American troops.*
Another innovative aspect of the exercise was the staging of drills in two separate locations within Australia:the Northern Territory and Central Queensland.This presented a test of the Australia-New Zealand-US alliance's command and control capability and,in general,the ability to carry out two significant military operations simultaneously in the Asia-Pacific theatre.*
The US was represented by the USS George Washington aircraft carrier strike group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit,both out of their forward basing in Japan.As well,2 US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers flew a 44-hour round trip from Barksdale Air Force Base,Louisiana to target areas in the Northern Territory.This mission demonstrated the ability to project US Strategic Command's flexible,long-range global strike capability,and to synchronise strategic activities with a key ally in the US Pacific Command.
Massive amphibious operations were staged in Fog Bay,Northern Territory.These were the largest amphibious operations Australia has taken part in since World War II as the country endeavours to develop an independent amphibious warfare capacity.The operations included both seaborne landings and airborne assaults.Australia contributed 250 embarked troops from the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment and the HMAS Choules amphibious ship.
Special Operations Forces from the US,Australia and New Zealand staged a night raid near Darwin,Northern Territory.
The total number of forces participating was more than 30,000 personnel;21 ships;3 submarines;and 200 aircraft.*
In the Fog Bay amphibious exercise on 11 July,the Battalion Landing Team,2nd Battalion,5th Marines,31st MEU took part.The landing was integrated down to the company level with the Royal Australian Regiment and saw the Marines and Aussies sharing the same vehicles,being supported by the same aircraft and working for the same objectives.
We must integrate down to the lowest tactical level,said 31st MEU commander Colonel Romin Dasmalchi.Planning together is not enough.If we are going to endure chaos together,we have to drill together and practice as often as we can.The only way to learn each other's tactics is to have the Marines and ADF personnel confront tactical tasks together.
The Fog Bay landing involved a three-pronged assault at Native Beach and Stingray Beach,plus an aerial insertion farther inland.For the Battalion Landing Team specifically,applying combat power across multiple frontages has a massive dislocating effect on the enemy.Not only does it isolate the enemy and reduce his ability to muntually support;it allows us to rapidly generate tempo and momentum,added Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Fiscus,commanding officer of BLT 2nd Bn,5th Marines.
Once the beachhead was secured,the forces pressed inland to secure secondary objectives.That done,they assumed defensive positions for the night.For the Marines,it was a dynamic,multifaceted amphibious assault and sustained, combined arms live fire exercise and maneuver ashore with their Australian partners.

A copper-coloured world with a big white heart shape on it:for the first time in human history,Pluto has been unveiled by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft as being utterly cool-looking.The white heart is approximately 1,000 miles/1600 kilometers across.The record-breaking mission marks the farthest-ever comprehensive exploration of a solar system body.New Horizons made its closest pass of Pluto today,practically skimming the surface at an altitude of around 7750 miles.
As New Horizons completes its flyby of Pluto and continues deeper into the Kuiper Belt,NASA's multifaceted journey of discovery continues,NASA said.The spacecraft is in a communications shutdown until just after 9 pm ET tonight,when it will phone home to give status report on its health.Its current speed of more than 30,000 miles an hour-the fastest spacecraft in history-makes it vulnerable to a collision with even a grain of rice-sized object,which would be devastating.
The NH voyage that took nearly 10 years and traversed 3 billion miles is the first ever journey to the Kuiper Belt of icy objects ranging from boulders to dwarf planets.Pluto itself has five known moons orbiting about it.The Kuiper Belt is considered pivotal because it preserves information about the solar system's origins.
After tonight's call home,New Horizons will begin a 16 month process of transmitting its 10 years' worth of data back to earth.Only one photo of its closest approach was released today.Others will follow on Wednesday.Note:The photo of Pluto and its moon Charon posted in his blog was from 11 July.
The spacecraft was designed,built,and is being operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel,Maryland.

Russia sent an offbeat Independence Day greeting to the US in the form of 4 nuclear bombers patrolling along the West Coast.On 4 July at 10:30 am,2 TU-95 Bear bombers approached the Alaskan coast and were intercepted by 2 US Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters.Thirty minutes later,2 more TU-95s neared the California coastline and were intercepted by 2 USAF F-15 Eagles.Neither pair of the Russian Bear bombers entered the 12-mile wide expanse of US airspace,North American Aerospace Defense Command said.Interception of the bombers could have occurred up to 200 miles out from the coast,a US official noted.
A similar incident occurred on 4 July 2013.Such Russian patrols are not unprecedented,but we are positioned to respond whether Alaska or California,NORAD spokesman Michael Kucharek stated.Worldwide,Russian military aircraft have been stepping up aggressive behaviour since the Russian invasion of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine,and NATO's response to it with sanctions and increased readiness.*
Part of NATO's response is the ongoing series of exercises by the US Marine Corps' Black Sea Rotational Force and NATO allies.US Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa announced Monday 6 July that Platinum Lion 15-3 was underway at the Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria.Besides the BSRF Marines,participants in the two-week series of drills include Bulgaria,Romania,the UK and Albania.The exercise will strengthen the partnerships between the NATO allies and improve their military skill sets by sharing knowledge.Troops will also get to bond on a personal level,improving their cohesion as potential warfighters.
Platinum Lion 15-3 will foster interoperability through sharing ideas,thoughts,tactics,training and procedures.Among the rotations will be:
1.Classroom training;
2.Multiple live-fire events;
3.Military police training;
4.Maneuver training;and
5.A culminating event in the form of a 3-day live-fire platoon attack exercise to provide a challenging and realistic training scenario.*
I believe we have a lot to learn from each other,said US Marine Captain Michael R McNicoll,Commanding Officer of Company G,2nd Battalion,8th Marine Regiment.
Platinum Lion became one of the greatest examples in Europe of connected forces and NATO smart defence initiatives,added Colonel Iavor Mateev,Head of the Joint Military Facilities Department at the Bulgarian Defence Ministry.